Many expert systems are based on a question-answer taxonomy platform. In these systems, questions are generated by the system and presented to an end-user. The end-user provides the system with answers to the questions. Generally, the response to the first question determines which question will next be presented to the end-user. The response to the second question determines the third question, and so forth.
There are many known applications of question-answer taxonomy expert systems. One example of a question-answer taxonomy expert system is a medical diagnostic system, in which the questions are intended to obtain information about symptoms a person may be experiencing in order to provide a diagnosis or suggest a treatment plan. The end-user in these systems may be the person experiencing the symptoms, or the end-user may be a trained medical professional providing information to the expert system based on observable events or phenomena, or based on an interview with a patient.
However, these known systems are typically relatively static. In other words, questions and answers in the taxonomy, as well as possible diagnoses and treatments, are not updated or added very frequently. Known systems are therefore not adequate for use in situations in which the taxonomy changes frequently, or changes to the taxonomy need to be made in real-time to account for rapidly changing circumstances.
Known expert systems are typically used in controlled situations, such as a hospital or doctor's office, or on a home computer to perform self-diagnosis. However, there are many situations in which dynamic analysis provided by an expert system would be very beneficial. In addition, there is a need for an expert system that can be used in a remote location, and in situations in which data and patient information is rapidly changing or dynamically evolving, such as during an emergency or crisis situation.
In addition, although known question-answer taxonomy expert systems may be based on very similarly structured taxonomies, typically the taxonomy platform for each system is developed independently. A single expert system platform that can support multiple, customizable taxonomies for use in different applications would be very advantageous.
Although expert systems can collect a large amount of information, known expert systems typically do not provide for any type of analysis of the information obtained, much less dynamic analysis.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.